Nigerian Banks flood CBN with N3.7 trillion excess cash on Christmas Eve
Nigerian commercial banks deposited a staggering N3.7 trillion into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) on December 24, signaling one of the highest liquidity surges in months.
This is according to financial data from the CBN covering December 22–24, 2025, which showed a sharp increase in idle fund placements just ahead of Christmas.
The spike came despite the apex bank’s earlier liquidity mop-up through a N1.7 trillion Open Market Operation (OMO) on December 22, revealing persistent excess cash in the financial system.
According to CBN’s financial records, bank placements in the SDF jumped from N2.47 trillion on December 23 to N3.67 trillion on December 24, a N1.2 trillion increase within 24 hours.
Additionally, banks’ opening balances at the CBN rose from N163 billion to N223 billion, reinforcing the idea that commercial banks were flushing with cash heading into the festive weekend.
Despite mopping up over N11.2 trillion in OMO bills since November and repaying N11.1 trillion, banks remain cash heavy.
Analysts say the surge in liquidity is also a sign of a cautious lending environment where banks prefer to lock funds in secure instruments like the SDF, which yields overnight interest of around 22.5%, instead of expanding credit portfolios amid prevailing monetary tightening.
